Here’s a “What If” for You!

I’ve been on a quest for many years to understand why some people believe in God and others do not; it has been an interesting journey. And it has caused me to examine my beliefs and the various beliefs of others.
One understanding I finally arrived at a few years ago was this: 

Most of our decisions about “faith” are based on emotions more than reason.

Of course, that’s offensive to many folks, both believers and unbelievers. All of us want to have really sound reasons why we believe what we believe. But I’ve examined those who reason FOR faith in God, and those who reason for LACK of faith in God, and found that really smart people with very clever ideas can be found in BOTH camps. What seems to sway a person is personal experience(s) that ignite certain emotions.

That’s not to say that reason is unimportant; I think it is most important. It’s just that most of us operate on an emotional plane more than an intellectual one. We tend to want to see the world as we’d like to see it, no matter the facts. Virtually no one is exempt from this. And to save face we assemble facts around our beliefs to substantiate our position. Religious people do this, and non-religious people do this.

So, it’s not about intelligence; there’s plenty of that on both sides of the argument. What would hamper an honest inquirer in his/her quest to decide about faith in a Deity? I mean, besides an experience that alienates someone, angers or repels them in their pursuit of the truth . . . what is there to sway them?

Well, here’s a “what if.” What if the Biblical notion of mankind’s rebellion against God (think Adam and Eve in the garden here) is really true. That there is a temper (think of a snake if that helps you) who enticed us from the beginning to establish OUR OWN authority in opposition to The Creator’s authority. That each of us is driven by the underlying compulsion to be in charge and live as we want to live with only the boundaries we set for ourselves, i.e. to be our own god?

What if the honest inquirer is hampered in his/her pursuit of faith by an innate nature of dis – honesty?

And in our rebellion we seek to justify ourselves and disprove the very thing we say we are seeking to discover. Is there a proverbial Trojan Horse inside of each man and woman that derails us in our decisions about faith? And if so, how could ANYONE ever come to faith in God and submit to His authority? What would prompt such an unnatural decision?

Desperation? Twelve-steppers would say it is learning to live “life on life’s terms,” I suppose. What is it that softens a person’s heart and makes them willing to submit, yield, and surrender to a Higher Power? For if this underlying problem is IN US ALL . . . why we would ANYONE ever relinquish control and give up control of his/her individual kingdom of self?

When life is not working out as we’d hoped, when all is in shambles, when tragedy and disaster have left us undone, when we find ourselves powerless over an addiction, when our most valued relationships are broken, when we are at the end of our rope . . . namely, when our reasons to live life as if we were our own god have produced doubts and fears heretofore exceeding our experience . . . we become emotionally and intellectually malleable.

If this is true we should EXPECT great resistance to Christian faith, shouldn’t we?

Ancient Christian writings clearly state REASONS and/or provide FAITH STORIES intended to produce faith in the reader (e.g. John 20:30-31). But what of the emotional . . . or dare I say innate “spiritual” resistance encountered in the reader or hearer? The Apostle Paul mentions that some are “dull” to Christian truth, (2 Corinthians 3:14-16); still others have been “blinded,” not by their own decision, but from another source, i.e. “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). So, this is not a modern phenomenon.

In light of, and in spite of this Paul says, ” . . . we do not lose heart . . . we refuse to use deception . . . we refuse to distort our message . . . and we persist in commending ourselves to every man’s conscience . . . .” (2 Corinthians 4:1-2). Further, we find our new identity, i.e. we are “ambassadors” of “reconciliation” to the world, carrying the message of grace (2 Corinthians 5:18-21), and no longer regarding anyone from a “worldly point of view” (2 Corinthians 5:16). That is, we learn to see the “spirit” of an individual man or woman, that central part that exists underneath the physical. And we are not put off by the ostensible resistance to faith that may parade around as intellectual enlightenment.

Whether those outside the faith are aware of it or not . . . WE are keenly aware there is a spiritual battle raging in the cosmos (Ephesians 6:10-12), and each individual has a target on his or her back. So, we expect to encounter resistance in our efforts. As Jude said in the long ago:

“Be merciful to those who doubt”

Jude 22

As I have often stated, it is not time for Christians to draw lines in the sand so much as it is time to reopen an honest dialogue with unbelievers; we must, however, realize deep in our hearts that the battle we wage is not ALL wrapped up in the cogency of our apologetics; rather, it is to come face to face with the innate spiritual rebellion that exists in every person who has breath.

So . . . we reason (yes), but we also pray, and we show understanding and mercy in the presence of unbelief. For we do not know what will disarm and render malleable the spirit of a man or woman. God must reach the heart before the mind embraces the truth.